inDegree: A LinkedIn for Grad Students

Written by Jolie O'Dell / September 3, 2009 10:34 AM / 6 Comments

This post is part of our ReadWriteStart channel, which is a resource and guide for first-time entrepreneurs and startups. The channel is sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark. To sign up for BizSpark, click here.

When we first heard about inDegree, pitched to us as a LinkedIn for graduate students, our initial response was, "Yes, but don't graduate students already have LinkedIn?"

This startup's CEO, Alexander Miningham, responded that while many grad students do indeed see some job hunting success via the behemoth site, many others have not yet built the professional networks to find a great deal of value there. As LinkedIn grows ever larger, more of us are relying on our networks for word-of-mouth, referrals, and recommendations. Miningham's point stands; so what does inDegree propose to offer as a substitute for a large professional network?

New users of the site are placed in what Miningham called "education networks," which allow users to find and connect with classmates or alumni - who are arguably more useful in a job-search scenario. Users can share documents and work collaboratively through the site. Job listings on the site are for advanced degree-holders only, which creates a welcome bottleneck for jobseekers.

"Through research," wrote Miningham, "we've found that graduate students are looking for a more dedicated site that fits their specific needs. Coupled with the services we plan to offer in 2010, we are confident that graduate students and alumni will rapidly adopt the website. inDegree is also the first website that connects these 4 user groups in one centralized location (graduate students, alumni holding graduate degrees, employers, and universities)."

InDegree launched in beta in May to Florida State University business students and launched publicly August 31. Currently, all accounts and postings are free of charge for all users, including universities and companies.

In early 2010, inDegree plans to roll out matching services similar to the models established by eHarmony.com and Match.com. InDegree proposes to match grad students and alumni to open positions with consideration for job types, experience required, location, salary, specializations, licenses, and other criteria. At that point, the site will charge employers and universities for matches, although job-seeking grad students will still be able to use the site and find matches free.

It's an interesting concept, and one that will require plenty of user adoption to work effectively. And we get the impression that effective pitching to universities will be one of the most important ways to increase user adoption. The interface on the site needs work; it doesn't have a professional look and feel, and the site's features and benefits are not compellingly highlighted.

Although these aspects need work, we can see the "matching" concept working well for grad students in the future. What do you think? Grad students and alums are especially encouraged to weigh in.

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Comments

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I think this is a great product for an inefficiently served demographic. With all the money that is spent on recruitment, this company stands a chance for real success.

The challenge will be in approaching universities. Currently, every university has a career services department that is delegated the duties of placing students in jobs. InDegree is positioned to undermine the work of this career services office, thereby making the office irrelevant. The only way around it is to sell into the university via another department.... but which one?

I personally know two other startups in this space, so competition won't be trivial.

Posted by: Andres Moran | September 3, 2009 12:28 PM

Great idea.
Good luck.

Posted by: Robert | September 4, 2009 6:39 AM

i like this blog and iwill viset agen thanke you
http://www.forexqs.blogspot.com

Posted by: forexqs.blogspot.com | September 6, 2009 4:59 AM

Great idea for an internet adventure!

If you're a graduate student and you can't find a dream job in a short time, you can always find a tutoring job to build up your work experience.

http://www.Happytutors.com provides a platform for graduate students and anyone else who has skills in certain subjects to connect with students in need.

http://www.HappyTutors.com
~ Connect Tutors with Students & Parents ~

Posted by: HappyTutors.com - Connect Tutors with Students & Parents | September 6, 2009 11:20 PM

I found the concept very interesting. However, as I went to check it out, I ran into several issues that prevented me from using the site. I sent them an email right away, pointing these out. Had no response so far (it's been a week!) = FAIL.

The two main issues I mentioned were:

1) It seems to be an US-only site. They should make it clear and save non-US visitors precious time! For example, they could use the IP to guess visitor's country and display a warning.

2) The email at the register form must end in .edu. Maybe all US universities have .edu domains, but if they are planning global coverage, they should definitely remove this restriction.

The others were minor issues, so I cut them away for brevity's sake.

Posted by: Waldir | September 15, 2009 1:25 PM

Regarding my previous comment: I just got a reply from them. It turns out the delay was a natural part of the busy schedule of a start-up, which naturally gets *a lot* of correspondence. They addressed the issues I mentioned (they said they'll start notifying non US IP addresses that the site is currently only for US students/alumni), and also mentioned that they plan to branch out to Europe within the next 12-18 months. I'll be looking forward to check it out when it does. Meanwhile, US-students who happen to read this -- if you do try it, please take a minute drop your reviews in a comment below! :D

Posted by: Waldir | September 16, 2009 2:24 AM